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Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful picture mars a valuable production
Review: Although this is a valuable record of a memorable production (the great Russian film-maker Andrei Tarkovsky's only operatic staging), purchasers of the DVD should be warned that the picture quality is absolutely diabolical. It was sourced from a PAL video recording originally made by the BBC, but for some reason (presumably US/Japanese sales) the DVD authors decided to convert it into the NTSC system, which plays havoc with the picture definition. Worse, the low-bitrate transfer has added digital artefacts galore, which get particularly blocky every time the camera pans or zooms. Thankfully, the sound quality (either PCM stereo or DTS 5.1) is vastly superior, and the set as a whole is clearly a must for Mussorgsky fans and Tarkovsky completists - bad though the picture is, it never completely obliterates the virtues of the original. But it's a real pity that corporate greed has made this such a badly compromised product, as I can't see a separate PAL DVD appearing any time soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A Musical Drama of Genius
Review: Boris Godunov is perhaps the most intensely dramatic of all operas, showing the fall of a great man marred by his guilt in the struggle for power. That decline and fall is reflected in the rise of his nemesis, Gregory (the false Dmitri), who in history died shortly after seizing the crown at the hands of the ever conniving Shuisky. Beyond these personal tragedies and intrigues is deeper tragedy of the Russian people; they are forever suffering and misled. "Hungry people,cry" is the last line of the opera. Mussorgsky's extraordinarily original music makes us live and feel every nuance of his drama. All roles are beautifully sung and powerfully acted. Lloyd is a brilliant Boris. I have never seen another Varlaam portray his role with such humor. Cardinal Rangoni hovers like a spider over Marina as he twists her to his will. Gergiev is a superb conductor of Mussorgsky's original orchestrations. The staging is also extraordinary: Tarkovsky brilliantly uses the same basic set depict a myriad of scenes, enabling each to flow into the next seamlessly. Actors portray sculptures in the Polish garden scene, changing position to mark shifts of perspective. Nevertheless, some of his devices detract from the inner strength of the drama: Boris recoils in terror from the call for alms of poor in the coronation scene; the ghost of Dmitri (the rightful Tsar whom Boris had had murdered)hovers endlessly through the play. Worst of all: Tarkovsky has everyone fall down dead at the end of the Kromny scene, instead of marching out in false triumph behind the false Dmitri.
Rating:
Summary: "Boris" as Mussorgsky would have wanted it!
Review: Look no further - finally, Mussorgsky's ideas about his great drama have been realized. This is the ONLY video of Boris Godunov using Mussorgsky's own orchestration. (After the composer's death, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov took it upon himself to create a new orchestration, arrogantly considering that Mussorgsky could not possibly have meant his music to sound the way it did. Unfortunately, this reorchestration was the standard version until very recently - almost all the available recordings of the great Russian basses in this role are the Rimsky-Korsakov version.) Murder, treachery, passion and misery - what more could one want from a great opera? Mussorgsky's epic is brilliantly staged by the great Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky in a rich production from London's Covent Garden (1983). Tarkovsky succeeds in posing disquieting psychological questions in a brutally faithful rendition of great originality and profundity. There are no cuts in Mussorgsky's music in this production: it is allowed to speak for itself. The film dates from 1990, when the production was given and filmed at St. Petersburg's ornate Mariinsky Theater. A mostly Russian cast, including Olga Borodina as Marina, Alexei Steblianko as the false Dimitri, Sergei Leiferkus as Rangoni and Alexander Morosov as Pimen, is headed by the English bass Robert Lloyd in the title role (and only rarely is his foreign accent noticeable!). The singing is magnificent throughout - I think the recording technology itself is responsible for a loss of sheen from the soloists and the orchestra, conducted with true insight and bravura by a young Valery Gergiev. The chorus is superb. My only criticism is that, throughout, the film is somehow too clean and self-conscious. The extensive subtitles are extremely helpful, as are the all-too-brief notes included with the set. I hope your interest will be piqued enough to delve into this fascinating period of Russian history. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this film is that Mussorgsky's own vision of Russia is at last presented as I feel he would have wished. Bravo to the entire production!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: Only those who know the Russian music history in general and Mussorgsky in particular, may appreciate this wonderful opera. Robert Lloyd's Boris Godunov is really tragic and the way that his repentance takes him to madness is perfect. His voice is brilliant and it's really a pitty that we don't have him in more roles like this, to appreciate his round and profound bass tone.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid production of a great opera.
Review: This is an incredibly powerful production of one of the most poignant operas written. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Borodina as particularly fine Marina and Leiferkus as a remarkably sinister Rangoni. Lloyd's Boris is wonderfully acted, but his vocal performance is less than ideal--he is far too woofy in his singing. All other aspects of this performance are epic, and it establishes itself as the definitive version of the Mussorgksy orchestrations (the colors and lighting seem to match the music perfectly). Of particular note is the shattering St. Basil scene, one of the most remarkable scenes in all of opera. I highly recommend this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid production of a great opera.
Review: This is an incredibly powerful production of one of the most poignant operas written. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Borodina as particularly fine Marina and Leiferkus as a remarkably sinister Rangoni. Lloyd's Boris is wonderfully acted, but his vocal performance is less than ideal--he is far too woofy in his singing. All other aspects of this performance are epic, and it establishes itself as the definitive version of the Mussorgksy orchestrations (the colors and lighting seem to match the music perfectly). Of particular note is the shattering St. Basil scene, one of the most remarkable scenes in all of opera. I highly recommend this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Opera!
Review: This is my favorite opera! Robert Lloyd has the perfect combination of voice and acting skill for Boris. As other reviewers have stated, it is wonderful to hear Mussorgsky's 1872 version, as he intended. Plus, it's performed in St. Petersburg with a mostly Russian supporting cast. This may be the only DVD for quite some time to come---because who could top this!?!
Rating: 
Summary: good music, poor staging
Review: This version of Boris is musically convincing, well sung and played. However the staging includes some very odd and irrelevant things, including a Christian ending which has nothing whatever to do with the actual text of the opera.
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